Dear Friends,
As we make our way through the weeks that approach Rosh Hashanah, I have been speaking on Friday nights about how the Torah portions we read every week teach us something about the season we are soon to enter.
The journey began with
Va-Ethanan - a word that means to pray earnestly or spontaneously entreat. Perhaps we will be able to find a moment in the coming season when the words in our hearts spring to our lips and add to the beautiful words of the liturgy.
The journey continued with
Ekev - which means 'consequences.' At this time of year we contemplate the consequences of our actions, both intended and unintended. Perhaps during the High Holydays we, too, will remind ourselves that everything we do, or say, is important.
Next came
Re'eh - "See!" The High Holydays are a spotlight that illuminates aspects of our lives that may lie concealed at other times of the year. There is something about those prayers, that singing, the stark sound of the s
hofar, that requires us to acknowledge and confront what we might have kept hidden - but that with that revelation comes the choice of blessing over curse.
After
Re'eh came
Shofetim. I spoke about the very end of the parashah, about the ritual undertaken by the leaders of the city when a death has taken place within their precincts. Even though they had nothing to do with the death, they acknowledge their connection to it. I spoke about how we, too, are bound to each other and how those ties are so powerfully evident on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
As I write, we have three Shabbatot still to come:
Ki Tetze with its multiplicity of complex, real-life scenarios;
Ki Tavo, which talks about a ritual of beginning; and
Nitzavim, Moses' penultimate words addressed both to those "here today" and "those who are not here today." In a year when we have lost some of the pillars of our community, those words feel particularly poignant.
As we prepare for the new Jewish year of 5779, we will begin with Selichot and what should be a riveting panel discussion on "Who shall live and Who shall die." The following week, the wonderful Dr. Ben Musher and our own esteemed prayer leaders will once again take us on the journey of the High Holydays. We will honor our nonegenarians as we break the Yom Kippur fast and will then welcome Rabbi Anne Brener for Sukkot, as she dedicates her family's Sukkah plaque and teaches us about mourning and mitzvah. Throughout the season, we will pray, sing, contemplate, and celebrate together.
I want to thank our staff in advance for contributing to this season: Bruce Yaillen, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for his enduring good will; Jennie Lavine, who has scheduled a rich, meaningful, and enjoyable program for our young families; Danielle Spadoni, who will greet you at the door and who has also worked hard to create all of our High Holyday materials; Shintee Boykins, who is always there, seen and unseen, to help everything in our facility run smoothly; and Chef Johnson, who will ensure that we eat and are satisfied.
My particular seasonal thanks go to all those on the High Holyday Honors Committee, our teams of Gabbaim and ushers, Sisterhood for the Rosh Hashanah Oneg and the sponsors of our Break the Fast.
And if you will forgive a personal note, I would like to thank everyone who has held me through my own Kaddish this year. I have been deeply grateful for your support.
This holiday season, I hope that we will look around the room and realize what a blessing it is to be part of a holy community. In this increasingly individualized and isolated world, we should never underestimate the blessing, comfort, and inspiration that we bring each other.
I wish us a sweet, happy, and healthy New Year,
Rabbi Deborah Silver
